No fewer than 61 people born in 2001 are standing for election to the National Council - one young hopeful from Zug is Julia Kueng

No fewer than 61 people born in 2001 are standing as candidates for the National Council. One of the youngest in the canton of Zug is Julia Küng.

Of note is that the youngest candidate to stand for election to the National Council is Sebastian Hueber of the Young Green Liberal Party of the canton of Lucerne; he was born on 19 October 2001. And the oldest, at 88 years, is Jacques Nierynck of the CVP party of Ecublens in the canton of Vaud.

When asked why she was standing for election to the National Council, Küng, who is a member of the board of the Young Alternative Party and currently learning to be a radio journalist, said she could no longer keep quiet about the environmental pollution and worldwide inequality.

As a young involved woman, she wants a seat in Bern to be able to support a policy of zero emission of greenhouse gases by 2030. Then she is for equal opportunities in all areas, too, i.e. with regard to gender, sexual orientation and origin. In addition, she stands for international solidarity. “We can no longer tolerate a situation whereby people in the developed world throw food away while others in poorer countries starve,” she said, adding that recent women’s demonstrations and those warning of climate change have shown people are ready for change.

With her energy, ambition and creative ideas, Küng feels she has a contribution to make towards a better future for everyone. “Indeed, over the past few months I have supported equal opportunity and climate change concerns indefatigably,” she said, adding that the current average age of those who sit in the national council is 52 “Hence it is time for a young woman with 100 per cent determination to be elected to represent these concerns in parliament,” she said, reminding people, too, that never in its history has the canton of Zug sent a woman representative to Bern.